Web site created to bring together Internet users finds another calling -- as an organizing tool for political advocates

Chat rooms

The founding fathers of Meetup.com had a lofty goal: bring detached Internet users together so their faces can be lit up by the warm conversation of like-minded people instead of the dim light of their computer screen.

In the 10 months since Meetup.com launched, more than 260,000 people have signed on to hook up with locals who share their interests in topics ranging from the band Dashboard Confessional to atheism to witchcraft.

But one interesting, unexpected side effect of Meetup.com has been its ability to bring everyday Americans together to rally support around presidential candidates of their liking.

In January, a few hundred people signed on to support the lesser-known Vermont governor Howard Dean in his bid for president. A Dean staffer stumbled across the Howard Dean meetups on the Internet, and the campaign was surprised to learn that people had already been organizing on their own around him.

The inspiration for Meetup.com came from a few different sources. One was a book that Homewood native and Meetup.com co-founder Scott Heiferman read about the disconnected nature of American society. About the same time, New York City was attacked by terrorists.

"There was a need for community," said Meetup.com vice president Myles Weissleder.

Although serving as an organizing tool for political candidates may not have been its original intent, Meetup.com is working to respond to users logging on in this way.

"The system is built to nicely accommodate groups wanting to talk about knitting, going to med school, their favorite author," Weissleder said.

But when they saw hundreds signing up for Dean meetings that were set up for a small group, the Meetup.com staff sat up and took notice.

"We built the system to help people of like mind find each other in their communities," Weissleder said. By Wednesday, more than 15,600 people had signed on to attend a "Dean for 2004" meetup.

"All of a sudden, it was like an explosion," said Joe Trippi, a Dean campaign manager.

The campaign now has a link on its Web site to Meetup.com and is content to watch that seed grow. Since the Dean meetups started gaining attention, other presidential candidates are popping up as topics on Meetup.com.

Chicago has played host to a number of meetups, but the biggest one so far was a "Dean for 2004" meetup earlier this month that attracted at least 80 people, according to Weissleder.

At the first Dean meetup at Guthrie's Tavern, about 18 people showed up and talked about what appealed to them about Dean's candidacy and what they wanted to see happen locally, said Andersonville resident Jason Rothstein, 31.

"I've been wondering when a presidential candidate would really take advantage of the Internet in a meaningful way," said Rothstein, who has taken part in the Chicago Dean meetups.

"The wonderful thing about it is that by and large the majority of the people coming out to these events are people not traditionally engaged or interested in politics," he said.

How it works

A meetup is a gathering of people who share a common interest. At www.meetup.com, people can sign up for free for a meetup featuring one of hundreds of topics. Users also can suggest topics. Owners of bookstores, cafes and restaurants pay Meetup.com to have their locations listed as a venue for a meeting. Then, the members of each meetup vote to determine where the meeting will take place. On the meetup day, members discuss their shared interest over coffee, beers or a meal. Meetups on the same topic happen on the same day in cities throughout the nation. Since June, about 1,000 Chicagoans have attended 125 meetups.